FUNDRAISING

The 2012 Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Festival will be held in the San Francisco Bay Area from Tuesday, July 17th through Sunday,July 22nd. BNV is the largest ongoing spoken word event for youth in the world. BNV brings together young artists, activists, educators, poets, and emerging leaders to participate in a celebration and demonstration of free speech, artistic empowerment, and youth voice.

Every year, hundreds of youth compete on slam teams from the U.S. and Europe at BNV. At the center of the festival is the International Youth Poetry Slam. A poetry slam is a high-energy competition where spoken word poets share meaningful original works that are then "judged" by members of the audience. Brave New Voices also offers numerous community forums, workshops, conferences, and performance events that encourage youth, artists, educators, activists, and community leaders to be advocates and agents for positive change on a local and global scale.

In September 2011, we began fundraising the initial $2,000 registration fee to secure ¡DUENDE! a spot at BNV 2012. In May 2012, we were accepted as one of 50 teams from all over the world to compete in the slam at BNV.

We now have until Sunday, July 1st to raise an additional $1500 to register our sixth team member, our co-coach, and one other adult mentor. We also have until Sunday, July 1st to raise the $1700 to send all six team members and three adult mentors to the Bay Area from Long Beach.

If you believe in the work ¡DUENDE! is trying to do and the impact we are trying to make in young people's lives, we ask that you please donate to our PayPal. Any amount is needed and welcome, but for donations $10 and up, we are offering special rewards to show our gratitude and love.

Reward #1: Y'all have ¡DUENDE! — $10Individuals who donate at least $10 will receive an autographed one-poem mini-chapbook from one of the ¡DUENDE! poets. We will also write and perform a short poem dedicated to you, which will be broadcast on our YouTube channel and this site!

Reward #2: I have ¡DUENDE! — $25Individuals who donate at least $25 will receive an autographed copy of the team's chapbook — featuring poems from the six team members and the organizers. We will also write and perform a short poem dedicated to you, which will be broadcast on our YouTube channel and this site!

Reward #3: We all have ¡DUENDE! — $50Individuals who donate at least $50 will receive an autographed copy of the team's chapbook and a ¡DUENDE! T-shirt. We will also write and perform a short poem dedicated to you, which will be broadcast on our YouTube channel and this site!

Reward #4: ¡DUENDE! is INFINITE! — $100+Individuals who donate $100 or more will receive an autographed copy of the team's chapbook, a ¡DUENDE! T-shirt, and a ¡DUENDE! totebag. We will also write and perform a short poem dedicated to you, which will be broadcast on our YouTube channel and this site!

All donors will have their name featured on our website, unless they specifically state they are donating anonymously!